Ninety-four dismissed lecturers from Enugu State College of Education, Technical (ESCET) have made an appeal to Governor Peter Mbah, seeking reinstatement.
The group, represented by Dr. Egbo Doris, Dr. Njideka Frank, and others, conveyed their plea to Governor Mbah through a letter. The letter was made accessible to journalists on Sunday in Enugu.
In the letter titled “A passionate appeal to reconsider staff disengagement at Enugu State College of Education (Technical) Enugu”, the group said if nothing was done, their disengagement would bring untold hardships to their families.
In October 2023, Governor Mbah formed a seven-member investigative committee to look into allegations of fraud and corrupt practices at the school.
The affected lecturers, who identified themselves as responsible and dedicated Enugu State indigenes, stated that they had been employed at ESCET on October 22, 2021.
They were dismayed to receive news of their termination from service on February 26, conveyed to them by the acting registrar of the school, Pat Aneke, who indicated that he was acting on directives from the government implementation committee.
While appealing to Mbah for reconsideration and reinstatement, the group said: “Our dedication to the educational growth of the school has been top-notch.
“It is only our set and Alvan Ikoku College of Education Owerri, that were successful in the whole of the South East in the 2023 TETFAIR programme. We believe that the sudden termination of our employment does not accurately reflect our contributions.
“It was only this set, disengaged since the establishment of ESCET, that was able to attract international education grant for further research work to continue improving on the quality of education in Nigeria.”
They disclosed that they were special hybrid and highly intellectual academicians that had been working for the institution on how to increase internally generated revenue (IGR) through different research engagement for the school before their disengagement.
According to the group, upon their employment, they remained dedicated and committed to the growth of the college and never deterred from discharging their duties in spite of irregular payment of staff salary.
“It is equally sad to state that two of our colleagues lost their pregnancies at their duty post, right inside the examination hall, while selflessly and diligently serving the institution as invigilators.
“May the blood of those innocent babies be enough atonement and cry for justice on behalf of all the disengaged staff.
“It is quite unfortunate that both the Investigation and Implementation Committees set up to look into the various challenges of the ESCET never deemed it fit to have a word or two with any of us.
“We strongly believe that the challenges of the institution could be tackled without depleting the already understaffed institution.
“After our employment, proper documentation was done and regularization, through verification of our documents for relevance and our names were duly added in ESCET Payroll.”
They equally alleged that they were being owed cumulatively to the tune of 13 months of salary arrears and “you can imagine the excruciating pain, and rude shock this sad news triggered on us.
“We are those fathers, mothers, aunties, uncles, sisters, brothers, who have found out excuses explaining to our children, and families, why lunch and dinner are no longer available on the table.”
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